The secret to escaping the fastest predatory species on the planet

It ran slower than the cheetah, but it could survive the chase if it ran creaking and turning at the last minute.

Alan Wilson, a researcher at the University of London, England, and colleagues analyzed how zebra and antelope impala escape lions and report cheetah on the African steppe. These are the fastest predators on land, according to the BBC. The rate of successful hunting of lions and hunting is 1/3, thanks to the combination of hunting skills and speed.

The antelope runs away from the cheetah newspaper.(Video: Smithsonian).

Scientists use special radio devices to monitor the maximum speed, acceleration and deceleration of the four animals mentioned above. They also took a small muscle sample to analyze the animal's maximum muscle strength.

The team found that carnivores like lions and cheetahs run significantly faster and are stronger than their prey. The cheetah newspaper can run at a maximum speed of more than 100km / h. Lions and leopards cheetah have about 20% stronger muscles, 37% better acceleration and 72% better acceleration than prey.

The cheetah newspaper is attacking an antelope.(Photo: Anup Shah).

However, lions and cheetah's versatility cannot match zebra and antelope if running at low speeds. The findings were published in the journal Nature on January 24.

"The final phase of the chase usually does not happen at high speeds. If the prey tries to escape by speed, they will slip into the clutches of predators predators capable of running and "Accelerated acceleration. The prey's optimal strategy is to run relatively slowly and turn the other direction at the last moment, " Wilson said.